Rodney g



R. G. CHASE.

ST1-:AM TRAP.

kNo Model.)

Patented Deof', 1'89'7..

Nrre Sterns trice. v

` Arent RODNEY G. CHASE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO 'GEORGE N. SCEETS, OF SAME PLACE.

STEAM-TRAP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 594,857, dated December 7, 1897. Application led February l, 1897. Serial No. 621,415. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern.'

Beit known that I, RODNEY G. CHASE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam-Traps; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to that class of steamtraps in which the water of condensation is separated from the steam by differenceof temperature acting upon a h'ermetically-sealed metallic vessel containing` a readily-volatilizing fluid and having a iiexible side connected to the devices which serve to close the outletvalve; and it consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts, as will be fully set forth hereinafter and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a vertical central section through a steam-trap embodying my present invention. Fig. 2 is aplan view of the device with the upper part'removed therefrom.

Referring to t-he drawings, A represents the shell or casing of the main chamber of my device, and B the top or cover, which is tightlyV screwed thereto, as shown.

C is the inlet, and D the outlet, of the trap, v the said outlet communicating with the tubular discharge E of the shell A and having an opening ct at the top which receives the guiding-Ilan ges b of the valve F, the said opening having a sharp-edged annular wall c,t`orming the valve-seat. The inlet C is a tubular formation extending within the shell A and like the tubular discharge E is formed with interior screw-threads for connection with a steam coil or radiator or other steam system. Above the inlet C there is a projection d within the shell A, to which is fulcrumed, as by screw c, one end of a lever G, whose free end is perforated for the reception of the stem f of the valve F, there being a pin g through said stem above the lever and a stiff spiral spring H around said stem f between the top of the valve F and under side of the lever G. The said lever is further provided with an elongated slot or opening h therethrough at a point considerably nearer its fulcrum than its free end.

The top or coverB has a tubular neck I, provided with both interior and exterior screwthreads, and in engagement with the interior threads is the screw-threaded stem t' of a stiff met-al shell J, having its base formed of an expansible diaphragm j, from the center of which depends a post K, having a rounded lower end and a screw-threaded longitudinal opening for the reception of the threaded shank of a screw L, which latter between its head and shank has a smooth-surfaced collar 7c of a diameter to just Iit within the described slot h inthe lever G when the parts are put together as shown in Fig. l, the said screwL being passed up through said slot h into the post K and the rounded lower end of the latter resting on said lever G.

The stem fr' is formed with a vertical screwthreaded bore my, through which the vessel, consisting of the shell J and diaphragm j, is filled with a readily-volatilizing iluid having a greater expansion than water at a known temperature, and then the opening ym is closed by a tight-itting screw M, securely soldered in, thereby forming an expansion-chamber of said vessel. The head of this screw M has a slot n therein, whereby the said expansionchamber may be vertically adjusted by a screw-driver at any time as desired, and there being a cap N screwed upon the neck I of the top or cover B,wi th suitable packing, as shown at O, to make a steam-tight joint. It will be understood that the other joints of the trap may be likewise packed to guard against the escape of steam; but I have not deemedit necessary to show this in the drawings.

The sediment which collects in the main chamber will fall down into the cup P in' the bottom thereof, from whence it may be readily removed by unscrewing the plug Q.

The operation of my device will be readily understood from the foregoing description of its construction, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. Vhen the trap is connected to the steam coil, radiator, or other steam system, the water of condensation of the latter will enter the main chamber of the trap at the inlet A, and when the water rises above the opening a of the outlet B it will iiow out, the valve being open, as shown in Fig. l. When this water has been discharged,

the steam will follow, iiowing in through the inlet A and will come in contact with the described vessel J y', which forms the expansion-chamber, and the iiuid contain ed therein will be expanded, and as the shell J is ine1astic this expansion will force the diaphragm j downward, carrying with it the post K, which has bearing, as stated, on the lever G, and thereby forcing the free end of the lever downward, thus closing the valve F on its seat c and preventing the escape of the steam. The outlet being thus closed water will accumulate in the trap, and when the steam is shut off from the expansion-chamber by this accumulation of water the Huid in said eXpansion-chamber will contract, and the diaphragin will resume its original form and draw the lever Gr upward, (being aided therein by the elasticity of the lever itself,) thereby opening the valve and permitting the accumulated water to escape down to the level of the opening in the outlet D.

As the vessel which forms the expansionchamber may be raised or lowered, as already described, the device maybe adjusted so that the valve may close at different temperatures or with steam at different pressures with equal efficiency and without change of construction or danger of disruption of the parts and Without the necessity of great nicety or accuracy of construction. These differences in the degrees of temperature of the steam result in variations in the degree of expansion of the Iiuid in the expansion-chamber,

and asrthe valve when closed has no further motion in order to guard against the undue and undesired strain of the diaphragm which would ensue and which might result in the destruction of the trap l have employed the described spiral spring Il to compensate for the extra'expansion when the temperature of the steam rises above the point at which the valve was adjusted to close, and hence when there is increased expansion of the fluid the result will be merely a compression of the spring H aft-er the valve F has closed without injury to the diaphragm, which latter when the fluid is contracted and the valve is opened will at once resume its normal form.

Having thus described my invention, what l claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In a steam-trap, the combination with a suitable casing, having an inlet and outlet, the latter forming a Valve-seat, of a lever fulcrumed at one end and carrying a valve at its free end suspended over the valve-seat in the outlet, said lever being slotted adjacent to its fulcrumed end, a spiral spring surrounding the stem of the valve and interposed between the under side of the lever and the top of said valve, a hermetically-sealed vessel adj ustably suspended Within the casing and lilled with a readily-volatilizing fluid, forming an expansion-chamber, and having a post depending from its expansible base, and resting upon said lever above the slot therein, and a pivotal connection passing through said slot and into said post for flexibly uniting the post and valve-lever, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that l claim the foregoing I have hereunto set myhand, at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, in the presence of two witnesses.

RODNEY e. cHAsE.

`Vitnesses:

ADELAIDE M. CH'AsE, LENA M. CHASE. 

